20 still hospitalized day after deadly Victoria bus crash

Published 6:00 pm, Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Most of the 20 people still hospitalized a day after the deadly crash of a charter bus traveling from Mexico to Houston were in good condition Thursday.

Fifteen people were in two Victoria hospitals, including one passenger who had to have an arm amputated after the bus overturned on a highway near Victoria, killing one. All 15 were reported to be in fairly good condition.

One person was transferred to a Houston-area hospital to be closer to family, and a second patient was likely to be moved from Victoria to Houston, said Shannon Spree, a spokeswoman for Citizens Medical Center in Victoria.

Four people remained hospitalized in San Antonio after being sent there after the crash. Three were reported to be in stable condition, with a fourth still in critical condition.

The bus, owned by Houston-based Capricorn Bus Lines Inc., was carrying nearly 50 people from Monterrey, Mexico, to Houston when it toppled onto its side on U.S. 59 about 4:15 a.m. Wednesday. Department of Public Safety officials said the driver apparently overcorrected after the bus veered off the road. A small pickup truck rammed the bus after it overturned, but the driver of the truck was uninjured.

Tom Vinger, a DPS spokesman, said the crash investigation continued and that a report on the accident would be released within 10 days.

Vinger said Wednesday that driver fatigue was one of the factors in the investigation, including how long the driver was behind the wheel and whether state or federal restrictions on driving hours were violated.

The bus company identified the driver as 42-year-old Roberto Cruz. He wasn't seriously injured, and Vinger said Thursday he had not been charged with anything.

Pete Kotowski, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator in charge, said the agency is conducting its probe in conjunction with DPS and that investigators were brought to Victoria to help.